Glossary of Games
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A list of 329 baseball-like games
Those attempting to learn about the origins of baseball confront a large zoo of different games that are candidates as modern baseball's predecessors. Even more complicated is the array of names for those games as they evolved over the years; some games appear to have sported different names, depending on the region and the era of play; and some names – including “baseball” -- have been used for rather different games.
This glossary is intended to provide a focus for our learning, as a group of researchers, about the full range of “safe-haven” games and their names. We hope that users will add other games, and tell us of mistakes in the current version. We chose to call this set of games “safe haven” games because what they seem to have in common: a set of bases where players gain immunity from being put out, and for which a round trip results in a run. (Some writers have called these games the “stick and ball” games, which would, if taken literally, embrace croquet and golf and tennis, etc., and would exclude kick-ball and punch-ball and all games played with cats instead of balls. Tom Altherr has used the term “baseball-like games,” and Richard Hershberger uses “the baseball family” to denote the class of games of interest. [Richard thus denotes a subset of the baseball kind of games, but omitting non-US games, two-base games, games arising after 1870, and the o’cat games]. Doubtless future usage will define agreeable generic terms to better convey what we all mean.)
Terms by Family
- Baseball (Family of Games)
- Safe-Haven games featuring running among bases, a bat, pitching, and two distinct teams.
21st Century Townball, Aleut Baseball, American Cricket, Aqejolyedi, Ba'Baises, Bace, Backyard Cricket, Ball-Bias, Ball-Paces, Ball-Stock, Banana Ball, Bandy-Wicket, Base Ball, Baseball, Baseball on Ice, Baseball5, Baste Ball, Bat-and-Ball, Battle Board, Beep Baseball, Bete-Ombro, Billets, Bittle-Bat, Bo-Ball, Bowlywicket, Brannboll (Brennball), British Baseball (Welsh Baseball), Bunting, Burn Ball, California Base Ball Variant, Canadian Game, Cat-and-Bat, Cat-and-Dog, Cavalry Base Ball, Chapita, Chermany, Cluich an Tighe, Codlings, Coed Softball, Continuous Cricket, Cricket, Cricket -- US, Cuck-ball, Cudgel, Danish Longball, De Kat, Diamond Ball, Donkey Baseball, Dully, Dutch Long, Elle, English Base Ball, Gate-ball (Thorball), German Ball Game, German Baseball, Giftball, Goal Ball, Gully Cricket, Halfball, Hildegarde, Hornebillets, Howland Rounders, Ice Cream, Imperial Ball, Indoor Baseball, Irish Rounders, Jellal, Kaiserball, Kit-Cat, Kitten Ball, Kopfspeel, Kwadrant, La Batonet, Lahden Mailaveikot, Lang Ball, Lapta, Leik Mjul, Lobber, Long Ball (European baserunning game), Long Dutch, Long Town, Massachusetts Game, Meta, or Longa Meta, New Marlboro Rules Baseball, Novaball, Oina, Old Hundred, Old-fashion, Om El Mahag, One-Three-One-One, Onondaga Longball, Over-the-Line, Palant, Patch Baseball, Pellet, Pentoss, Pesapallo, Philadelphia Bat Ball, Philadelphia Town Ball, Plaquita... further results - Kickball (Family of Games)
- Safe-Haven games featuring running among bases, pitching, and two distinct teams (but no batting).
Ball and Bases, Balle au Camp, Balyagu, Beezy, Boston Ball, Cat i’ The Hole, Cerkelspelen (Circle-Game?), Cora, Diamond Discus, German Bat Ball, Hit the Stick, House Ball, Kersa, Kick the Ball, Kickball, Langball, Matball (Big Base), Off-the-Wall, Palm Ball (Slap Ball), Pie-Ball, Pize Ball, Punchball, Tut-Ball - Scrub (Family of Games)
- Safe-Haven games featuring running among bases, pitching, and a bat (but no teams).
Anauligatuk, Barn Ball (House Ball), Feeder, Ins and Withs, Kick the Can, Kick the Wicket, Move-Up, Munshets, One O’ Cat, One, Two, Three, Rotation, Rounds, Scrub, Slapball, Two Old Cat, Workup - Fungo (Family of Games)
- Games featuring batting/hitting (but no baserunning).
Balloon, Bottle Caps, Box Baseball, Bunt, Cashhornie, Cat (Kat), Catch a Fly, Changers, Corkball, Curb Ball, Dab-an Thricker, Drive Ball, Evansville Townball, Five Hundred, Flip Up, Flys-Are-Up, Flies-Up, French Cricket, Fungo, Fuzz-Ball, Grutz, Gulli-Danda, Half-Rubber, Hit the Bat, Hoina, Hornie-Holes (also Kittie-Cat), Indian Ball, Kibel and Nerspel, Kichke-Pale, Knock-Out, Line Ball, Long Ball (US Batting Game), Norr and Spell, Northern Spell, Off The Point, Peanut Baseball, PeeGee Ball, Pepper, Pingball, Pitching-In, Porschek, Sky-Ball, Stoopball, Strike Up and Lay Down, Strike-Out, T-Ball For One Boy (and one other 'player'), Thin Mugoali, Three Man Ball -- Hit It Out, Tip-e-Up, Tire-Ball, Trap Ball, Tribet, Trippit and Coit (Trippets, Trip-Cat), Trounce-Ball, Twenty-One, Wall Ball, Wiffle ball, Wireball - Hat ball (Family of Games)
- Games featuring baserunning and/or plugging (but no batting).
Aipuni, Call Ball, Catch-Ball, Corner Ball, Dodgeball, Doutee Stool, Egg-Hat, Hat Ball, Hole-Ball, Kappenspiel, Kekivar, King’s Play (Cluich an Righ), Monday, Tuesday, Nations, Nine Holes, Off The Wall, Off the Stoop, Petjeball, Retenido, Roley Poley, Running Base, Rushing Bases, Sockball, Wibble-Wobble - Hook-em-snivy (Family of Games)
- Games for which the rules of play are not known and, and some that are commonly encountered by researchers but that are not safe-haven games (including shinty, bandy, and stow-ball).
Ball Stand, Balslaen, Bandy, Base (Prisoner's Base), Base Dodge Ball, Bat-Ball, Batton, Bittle-Battle, Buff-Ball, Bull Pen, Cat's Pallet, Club-ball, Crekettes, Gi-Gi Ball, Gidigadie, Hand-in-Hand-Out, Hittera Ball, Hook-em-Snivy, Hunyou-Shinyou, Knattleikar or Knattleikr, Kuningsapallo, Mickey, Norwegian Ball, Old Grope, Pitkapallo, Poltopallo, Prisoner's Base -- see 'Base', Rickets, Shinty, Square Ball, Swede Ball, Tabeh, Throw Ball, Touch-Ball, Touch-the-Base, Tripbal, Up-Ball, Whirl, Whoop
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